Was U21 clash against FC Porto Andros Townsend's last match in a Tottenham shirt?

While most Premier League players were focusing on the upcoming Boxing Day fixtures, Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend was knuckling down for his latest outing with the club’s under-21s on Wednesday afternoon.

Tottenham’s next generation took on Portuguese side FC Porto in the Premier League International Cup and Townsend started the match alongside the likes of Harry Winks and Cameron Carter-Vickers – a role he is getting used to having recently turned out at this level against Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough.

Tottenham ran out 4-0 winners courtesy of a brace from Shaq Coulthirst and goals from Anton Walkes and Emmanuel Sonupe, with Townsend providing the assist for the third of the match.

But could this be the last time the England international pulls on a Tottenham shirt for a competitive game?

After all, the 24-year-old has been nowhere near the first-team for a Premier League encounter since mid-October and with the January transfer window just days away it would be no surprise to see Townsend move on.

A recent report from the Daily Mail claimed Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Watford are all interested in signing Townsend next month, and if a deal is done quickly there is a very real chance that he may have played his last match for Tottenham at any level.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. Shortly after, in a somewhat leftfield move, he began working at a secondary school in Kent. After eight years – the last four of which were spent as Head of Sixth Form – he began to write full-time, combining his love of football with his passion for the written word.Alongside his work for HITC Sport, he also writes film reviews for HITC Lifestyle… along with the odd music interview when fate allows.